A Cinderella Story
by Esterni
Summary: Fate can be rather wicked at times, Asajj knows that quite well. Still, this was something even she hadn't expected. Her visit to the ball should have been a nice evening, nothing more. Someone had different plans though. And sometimes, lightsabers make more out of situations than glass slippers. (AU, Anisajj)


_Hey there!_  
 _I know this isn't a new chapter of Rise of the Fallen, something I would have preferred to present, but alas, I am still working on my time management. There is so much stuff to do all the time!_  
 _But I couldn't let May 4th pass without uploading anything, so I decided to instead give you this. It's a story I wrote some time ago, but it was something I wanted to share for a while already._  
 _So here you go now, I hope you will enjoy it, even if the pairing might seem a bit strange at first. I personally like it quite a lot. :)_  
 _Enjoy, and: May the Force be with you!_

* * *

 **A Cinderella Story**

 _A long time ago, in a universe far, far away..._

 _During a time of intergalactic peace, there was a kingdom on a remote planet, known by few as they usually kept to themselves. Ruled by the benevolent King Qui-Gon and his wife, Queen Shmi, the kingdom was prosperous and carefully neutral between the two other kingdoms on the planet's surface that, at times, fought for domination._

 _Their neutrality was valued by both though and they kept good trade-relations, as well as other services, for it was well-known that many of the higher-ups of the kingdom were able to do magic, which they called the Force, moving things without touching them as well as, at times, reading other people's emotions or even thoughts._

 _The king and queen had two sons. The older one, Prince Obi-Wan, was trained for becoming the next king in due time, while the younger one, Prince Anakin, was more of a free spirit, usually more into spending time with the royal guard. The two of them both were well-liked and respected though, and as such the announcement of a huge ball to look for possible brides for Prince Obi-Wan was met with excitement throughout the kingdom._

 _It would surely become an important point in time for quite a few people..._

xxx

Asajj sighed soundlessly as a soft thump next to her indicated that the body of her latest victim had hit the ground. This one had been almost too easy, really. A simple farmer that had angered some higher-up? What was Dooku thinking, sending her on a mission like that?

Putting her lightsabers back on her belt she silently made her way back to the window she had come in from. She was rather glad that typically even windows in higher buildings were easily accessible, with ivy growing at the sides or the stones being big enough to grip.

It also helped that she had received a basic training in the Force of course, even though Dooku always made sure she knew nothing more but the basics, but that was more than enough for her descent at the end.

Jumping out of the second floor window and landing in a crouched stance on the ground she waited for a moment to make sure nobody had noticed her, before making her way back to Dooku, her rather short, white hair hidden from the pale moonlight by a dark hood.

She guessed she was really acting like the perfect assassin and she didn't even mind the killing in itself - in this country, if you weren't a noble it had always been eat or be eaten - but she wished she wouldn't have to return to Dooku every time.

Of course, for the public he was a respectable count, one of the consultants of the king even, but she knew he didn't care much for this country. Or maybe he once had, but after the late king had given regency to his son he had grown increasingly unhappy with how the country was ruled. And if Dooku was unhappy he began to plot. It was all about power and politics with him, something Asajj had never quite understood.

She herself hated politics, especially the politics of the nobles. Everything that had caused her to live with Dooku of all people. Her father - a noble himself - had died ten years ago and suddenly, there had been people claiming money or properties from her everywhere. Without anyone on her side and still basically a child she had soon lost everything, so of course Dooku had been _generous_ , allowing her to live as one of his _servants_.

Turning her into his personal assassin.

Of course, it had it's advantages too, she had a roof over her head after all - her room was plain, but at least it wasn't in the servant's quarters - and he had given her lightsabers - something only few people in the country possessed as they were very expensive. With blasters being proscribed and ammunition being difficult to get, usually people fought with vibroswords or vibroblades, so having a lightsaber was rather helpful, but at what price? Bowing to his every whim to ensure he wouldn't simply take it all away again, leaving her on the streets with _nothing_?

It certainly was a grim outlook for life, but it was all she had, so she had long since learned to live with it, only complaining about him in the safety of her head.

xxx

When she finally arrived at the residence of Dooku she had already taken off her cloak, looking like the innocent servant girl people surely thought her to be - though, to be honest, not many people knew of her existence at all, for who cared about the people serving a noble these days anyway?

Still, she tried not to think of these things as she dismounted her speeder and gracefully walked the path to the manor, where she assumed Dooku would be waiting.

Her assumption proved correct as she saw him standing in the entrance hall, looking as rigid as ever, but surely waiting for a report.

"It is done, master," she told him after kneeling down in front of him, coming straight to the point. He hated rambling. "Nobody noticed me."

"Very well," was the only thing he said in recognition - which was the best she could achieve, for if she displeased him he usually simply started using Force lightning on her without any preamble.

Of course, that was still better than what happened if he caught someone lying to him - and he _always_ caught people - but... she preferred not to think of that one time.

"I will not be home for the next three days," he suddenly said, making her eyes narrow a fraction. These announcements usually meant something important was going to happen, she just didn't know if it would be good or bad. "The king is hosting a ball to find a suitable fiancé for at least one of his sons. I, of course, will have to attend the whole party, so do not expect me home before the late evening of the third day. You will have time for yourself until then, you know the rules."

"Yes, master."

With that he turned around to leave the room, dismissing her with the gesture. She waited until he was gone before standing up again, hurrying over to the small room that was hers. It only consisted of a bed and a wardrobe, but at least it was a soft bed, so she didn't mind overly much. What she did mind though was his way of tormenting her by giving her detailed accounts of what he would be doing, knowing fully well that she was not supposed to leave the residence without his permission. He knew she wouldn't be able to get her status as a noble back, so he did his best to remind her of it whenever an opportunity arose, just because he could.

And she was unable to do anything against it, for she was dependent on him. If she ever left, he would probably work something out to get her killed, as she knew too much about his doings to be allowed to roam free.

What a great prospect for life.

xxx

The next two days were almost boring for Asajj, who, with Dooku out of the house, didn't have much to do but train. She knew she needed to stay in shape for whatever task she would get next. It wasn't unusual for him to come back with a new task from his... social gatherings, so she needed to be ready for when he returned. This time the target probably wouldn't be a simple farmer. Or at least she hoped so. Complex missions were the only times she felt powerful these days and even free, to a certain extent. Not like a caged bird, longing for freedom it would never get.

Ugh, she needed to stop these thoughts, she was starting to get whiny.

It wasn't very surprising though, she usually got more moody around this time of the year, for it was the time her father had been killed. She just couldn't get over it, even after so many years, for the murderer had never even been caught. It was aggravating.

Feeling frustrated and alone, she went to her wardrobe and took out a box from the highest shelf. It looked plain from the outside, but it was her biggest treasure. Not even Dooku knew what was inside, though he probably suspected it.

The few memorabilia she had left from her former life.

A few pictures of her father, sometimes with her in them too... A necklace he had gifted her on her tenth birthday that she had managed to save from prying eyes... And a gown that had once belonged to her mother.

Taking the gown out, just because she felt like it and she knew nobody would dare entering her room - well, nobody but Dooku and he was far away, in the castle - she examined it. It was beautiful, had always been, being sleeveless dark silk down to the waist, where many dark feathers had been fastened, making it look like the wearer might be a raven turned human or something alike.

Asajj didn't remember her mother much as she had died early, but she could easily imagine how beautiful she must have looked in it. To think that she herself would never get an opportunity to do this piece justice - if she ever could - was a rather sad thought. She could almost imagine her father standing there, looking sadly at her out of his pale green eyes...

Which was when she realised that he _was_ standing there. A shimmering, translucent figure, maybe, but nonetheless the shape of her father.

It took all of her willpower not to scream, to alert others to her distress, which could only lead to disaster. As besides taking note of the dress they would be thinking her crazy, seeing ghosts of long lost relatives...

"F-Father...?" she tried instead, her voice still shaky and an octave higher than usual, but controlled enough to be quiet. One never knew who listened in after all.

The figure gave her a sad smile, so much like her father had done in life at times. Ky had been a good man and a kind count, even though he hadn't been the most social person after the death of his wife.

"Asajj," the ghostly figure muttered just then, even his voice reminding her so much of him, the way he said her name so full of love... She had missed this incredibly, she realized. Although his voice had some sort of hollow ring to it that she had never heard like that before. "You have grown up."

"W-What... How...?" She cursed herself for her stammering, as she usually thought herself to be rather eloquent, but the shock sat deep inside of her at this point in time. It wasn't every day you saw a _ghost_. How was this even _possible_?

"I am sorry, I have not much time for explanations... I have been given this one time chance, and I want to make sure it counts," the ghost answered, sounding so very sad she almost wanted to hug him. If it really _was_ her father, that was.

"What do you want, then?" she managed to ask, deciding that no matter if it was her father or not, he certainly looked and acted the part, so she could just as well use the opportunity to look at him again, remember every little detail about him to never forget. If anything she wanted him to keep living in her heart forever.

"I just wish for you to have fun once again," he said, making her frown. What was that supposed to mean? But he was quick in explaining. "I have watched you even after my death and I know how Count Dooku is treating you... I understand why you do not fight it, but still I cannot help to wish a better life for you."

Asajj clenched her free hand to a fist, careful not to do the same with the one holding the dress in fear of crumpling it.

"Well, tough luck for me then. I'm stuck here and I won't get away anytime soon."

"Maybe," the ghost admitted. "but I do remember how much you loved to dance. With the ball being held at the castle just now, wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity...?"

She stared at him. She had never told anyone how she had liked to dance as a child, even though she had never been much into social events. Still, the rhythmic motions of dancing made her feel alive, enough so that she had even begun to adopt a few more elegant moves into her fighting style. Still, this did give his claim to be her father some more credibility, although she still couldn't agree with his words.

"Dooku's there. He would immediately recognise me."

"There are many people at the ball today. Traditionally the third day of a festival like that is open for basically anyone, he will not look at the guests. And while the idea of the ball is to look for a bride, the attending people will surely mingle with each other too."

That... sounded logical, in a way, although with her not knowing anyone Asajj wasn't sure if 'mingling' with the others could happen.

"I don't even have something to wear."

The ghost looked at her.  
"Dear, you are _holding_ something to wear. You know your mother was a very beautiful woman, and I can see you are coming after her. I am sure this will fit you too."

She grimaced, not very convinced. Yes, maybe the dress would fit her, but... disobeying Dooku like that? She would be dead if he found out!

"Asajj... I know this isn't easy for you. But I do believe in you, and this ball might as well be the only opportunity for the coming years. Once the prince has found a bride there won't be a need for another of these big festivals any time soon, don't you agree? And I am sure your mother would be happy too, would she know you wore her dress for a single evening like that... At least for one dance...?"

xxx

As Asajj stood in the huge ball room she was already beginning to think this was all one huge mistake. In the end her father had convinced her to go - he almost bullied her into it, really - so she had snuck out of Dooku's manor - which wasn't as hard as he would have liked, seriously - and driven to the castle. On days like these she rather liked not having to park her speeder in the manor's carport.

She had then changed into the gown and the most fitting shoes she owned and put on her necklace for good measure, making herself look as presentable as possible before walking the rest of the way to the castle.

The guards had let her in without any problem, not even thinking of checking her for weapons - making her wonder if hiding them below her dress really had been necessary, but she preferred to be safe than sorry - so now she was in the huge ball room, with nobody paying attention to her.

This suited her just fine, really, but she still felt terribly out of place, almost wishing a hood back on her. Or at least a target in the crowd she could kill or something.

Like that, she only carefully watched where the king and queen were standing - as Dooku was surely hovering nearby - and she looked for the guy all girls were flocking around, to make sure she avoided him. No need to draw more attention to herself than necessary by accidentally running into the prince, right?

At least as far as she could see from her place he was looking rather handsome, with short, light brown hair and a beard that, coupled with his whole body language, gave him a grown-up and sophisticated look, even though he was barely in his late twenties as far as she knew.

Another man stood beside him, with darker hair that was a lot shorter, giving him a military look. Asajj guessed that this was his brother, as she had heard rumours of the younger prince being more of a military-lover than his brother. But as she had been mostly locked in Dooku's manor she had never actually seen either of them.

Deciding she didn't want these things to change now she finally made her way to a small corner at the side of the hall. She knew she had promised her father to at least try to find a dance partner, but she was already feeling overwhelmed by all these people and, to be honest, they were currently boring her. What she could see of the dance floor mostly consisted of awkwardly stumbling people, with only a few properly dancing couples. And even then, nobody really stroke her fancy. She simply didn't care.

Shaking her head at all of them she allowed herself a sigh, before leaning her head back against the cool marble wall of the room. Why had she agreed to this again? What was she even supposed to do now?

"Are you feeling unwell?" a deep voice next to her suddenly asked, causing her to jump and whirl around. Next to her stood a tall young man with brown hair that went to his shoulders. He looked rather handsome she supposed, even though a scar was visible over his right eye. A guard maybe? Though he was wearing clothes suggesting he was rather well-off.

She shook her head, to answer him as well as to clear it a little. The noises of the ball seemingly had been louder than anticipated, for she hadn't heard anyone arriving at all. She couldn't let her guard down like that, if this would have been Dooku she would have been screwed.

But it wasn't, so she tried for a polite smile as she straightened, even though it wasn't holding up very well right now.

"I'm fine, sorry."

The man didn't look convinced either, but he still shrugged.

"Alright, if you say so."

He turned back to watch the crowd and, after a moment of hesitation, she did the same, letting silence rule between them as she busied herself with watching out for any sign of anything royal as well as wondering who that man beside her might be. He didn't quite look like a craftsman or farmer, though she had been able to seen muscles below his clothes, but said attire simply looked too expensive to be owned by ordinary people.

Of course, the hall was brimming with all kinds of women, so the most probable thing was that he either had come with one of the more well-off ones - a brother, perhaps? For he was certainly too young to be a father - or that he was somebody who hoped to get one of the women for himself if they weren't able to land points with the princes.

He didn't seem overly interested in the people though, looking almost bored the few times she dared to look over to him without it seeming too weird. Huh...

Suddenly the man turned his head back to her, making her tense almost automatically. He didn't look threatening though, only curious.

"You don't look very happy to be here," he commented lightly, making her shrug.

"Look who's talking," she retorted, a bit blunter than intended, but really, all these people were making her nervous. A problem of being good with killing people stealthily usually was increased paranoia of it happening to herself, sadly.

He didn't seem offended though, only looking surprised for a second before chuckling.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not the best example. Let's just say... My father forced me to attend."

Asajj raised an eyebrow, wondering what this was about, but didn't comment. After all, it really wasn't her business and she guessed if doing it right one could get quite a few connections even today, although most nobles had already danced and mingled and everything the two days before and rarely came back for a third day, where everyone was permitted.

"So? What about you?" the man kept pressing then, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Well... you could say the same for me." Of course, with her father dead he couldn't very well force her... But it was close enough, really.

He scowled slightly.

"Don't tell me he wants you to marry a prince? I mean, I certainly don't mind Obi-Wan, really, but I sure hope the girls here at least want to marry him on their own... Even if most surely want to do so because of his title, or wealth, or whatever..."

Asajj grimaced at the thought of that.

"Ugh, no, nothing like that. He just..." at that, she had to look away, not wanting to expose her weakness by letting him see the sadness in her eyes. It took all her willpower to keep her voice levelled. "I guess he just wanted me to have some fun. I'm not getting out much."

It was closer to the truth than she would have liked to admit, but then again... She probably wouldn't see this guy ever again and she doubted he would remember anything more of her than a girl he had talked to the next morning.

"Oh, uh... sorry then. I've just seen a few too many fathers who think this is a good idea. Though... no offence, but you're not really looking like you're having loads of fun here, all alone by yourself."

She sighed. Way to go, rubbing salt into the wound. Whoever that guy was, he certainly wasn't the smoothest talker around. Military service seemed to become more likely by the second.

"Did you figure that out all by yourself?" she asked as such, her tone chilly, making him wince a little.

"Alright, you _did_ take offence, sorry... No need to get all snappy."

Closing her eyes again she took a deep breath, trying to calm down. No need to cause a scene here now...

"Sorry. I just... I'm really not sure if I want to be here, wasting my time, instead of using it for training."

After all, it usually wasn't a good idea to needlessly antagonize people. Sadly.

The man relaxed again though, so her apology seemed to have sufficed.

"Of course, actually I can understand that pretty well... Sorry for being rude."

She gave off a non-committal sound and turned back to the crowd, making sure Dooku was still far away from her little corner. He had drawn closer over the last few minutes it seemed, but still not close enough to be able to recognize her from that distance she hoped... Maybe it would be time for a change in positions soon.

"Say... What kind of training are you doing?" the man suddenly spoke up again, making her unable to hide a groan of annoyance.

"You do know that you are terribly nosy, yes?"

He grinned at her.

"Yeah, I'm being told often enough. Still, people tend to answer my questions once I get persistent enough anyway." He grew halfway serious again. "Well, either that or they leave. Which, by the way, would also be totally fine, I just thought you might want some company. It could at least be a _little_ fun then. Loads more than just standing around alone, I assume."

That... was a unique way of putting it. But he was right in a way, she really had nothing better to do after all and if she didn't talk to people she wouldn't even have the chance to have fun. Curse that logic and her mind for actually _wanting_ to fulfil her father's wish.

"Sword fighting," she stated as such after a moment of silence.

"Huh?"

"Sword fighting. I'm training with the sword," she repeated. And while it was true that usually men were more probable to be able to fight than women, it wasn't as if it was forbidden or anything and especially people of a lesser status all knew how to defend themselves. Just in case.

She didn't expect his face to basically light up, though.

"Really? With what weapon?"

Definitely military, only these people had such a fascination with weapons.

"Vibroblades," she lied, not for one second thinking about admitting she was using lightsabers. That would've gotten bad. Also, she was able to fight with vibroblades too, as she had learned that before ever being trusted with a weapon as dangerous as a lightsaber.

"Cool!" the man said nonetheless. "I personally tried a few weapons already, and I really like the feel of most of them, though I do have to say, lightsabers most certainly score top."

Asajj stiffened a little at the mention.

"You've fought with lightsabers before?" she asked, trying to mask her wariness with curiosity, but not sure if she had managed.

The man stared at her for a moment, before shrugging.

"Yeah," he easily admitted, but not offering up any more information.

Silence reigned and she was once again toying with the thought of just leaving when he spoke up again.  
"Hey, wanna see some cool weapons?"

" _What_?" She couldn't help but stare at him, wondering if he had gone crazy. Not only did he sound incredibly shady, how did he think he would manage that?

"Uh... that came out wrong, didn't it? I just meant, if you're interested we could go take a look at a nice little exposition of old weapons... In the castle I mean. It surely beats having to stand around here watching people dance. And you're _technically_ still here, so no problems with your father."

She frowned at him, unable to prevent being suspicious.

"How would you know about that? Also, isn't it kind of forbidden to leave the ballroom without permission?"

"Oh, leave that to me. So, do you want to join?" Now he was grinning again, sounding surprisingly confident. Whatever position he held, it must have been one close to the royal family. A son of one of the higher-up guards maybe?

Still, if she was honest with herself she _was_ kind of interested... It definitely sounded more interesting than standing around here, as he had been saying. She just hoped they wouldn't get caught. Although if worst came to worst... There was a reason she had smuggled her lightsabers in. She would probably be able to deal with it.

So in the end she shrugged.

"Fine. But if we're getting caught I'm blaming you."

She wondered if claiming he had dragged her off against her will would really work... Maybe accusing him of assaulting her or something? She _really_ hoped it wouldn't come to that though. She only resorted to these kind of tactics if she knew she couldn't win a fight and if that guy was some better known person in the castle people would believe him over her. Anyway, as long as they wouldn't run into half of the royal guard things would be fine.

Not knowing what was going on in her mind right now he just kept grinning, nodding along easily.

"Sure! Now, come. I know the closest exit without guards."

xxx

Sure enough, only a little while later they were standing in what looked like an exhibition room to Asajj. There were a lot of different weapons displayed, some looking useful, some less so - at least at first glance.

The man - whose name she still didn't know, but didn't ask for she didn't want to introduce herself either after all - explained to her how these weapons had come to the royal family in surprising detail, further cementing her guess that he was a son of some important guard or something. He really knew this stuff astonishingly well.

Then again, she didn't much mind who his parents were as he was able to tell rather interesting tales, really.

Currently he was pointing at a small rod mounted on a stand at a side table.

"Or check this out." He grabbed it as if it was nothing, turning it on. Immediately a blue hue spread from the metal, almost like a lightsaber... except that the blade looked more like a small round orb instead of anything to cut things with.

She frowned.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Well... There was some royal family who wanted to be clever, so they gifted us with what they thought we used lightsabers for: A lamp!" He swung it a little as if it actually were a sword, which looked ridiculous. "Seriously though, I think they just messed up the form because they wanted to be cool. This thing can change colours, you know?"

He turned a gear Asajj had missed before and the blue first faded into purple, then red, yellow, green and back to blue.

She snorted. Yeah, talk about being useless.

"Can it still hurt?" she asked anyway, because despite its odd form the glow did look similar to the blade of a lightsaber.

The guy shrugged. "Probably? I've honestly never tried. But then again, why should I have? I've got my own-"

He broke off suddenly, causing her to frown in suspicion for a moment, until she heard the noise.

There were voices closing in, as well as the sound of footsteps on marble echoing outside of the door. People were coming.

The man cursed quietly as she glared at him.

"Didn't you say nobody would be coming here today?" she hissed, referring to a comment he had made off-handedly when she had been reluctant to even enter the room.

He grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah... looks like I forgot something."

Before she could glare at him some more, or even have time to think of a good escape plan he suddenly grabbed her hand though, pulling her to him.

"What are you-?" she started, but stopped as she realised he pulled open the doors of a nearby cabinet, pushing her inside before climbing in too. She was close to push him out again - this cabinet was full of old swords and other weaponry! - when the sound of the door opening made her stop.

Especially once she recognised one of the voices as Dooku's.

Staring at the guy next to her with wide eyes she only begged that nobody would open the doors and find her in such a... undesirable position with him. Thanks to there not exactly being a lot of space they were way too close for her comfort, with her dress leaving her shoulders way too open... He did have the decency to try and leave her as much space as possible at least, but their legs were still touching and it was unnerving her slightly.

At the same time Dooku and another man's voice - the king maybe? Judging from what they said - discussed something about the exhibition objects, which of them should actually go to an open exhibition that seemingly was planned some time in the future and which could be put in the royal treasury and be done with.

For Asajj this seemed to drag on forever, with every passing minute making her more nervous what might happen if anyone opened the door now...

But then, after what felt like _ages_ , everything important was finally discussed it seemed and they left the room again, though not without commanding to someone - a guard that had been silent up to now, she assumed - to make sure nobody but the blacksmith they had called for would enter this room now, as they still needed some of the weapons in the cabinet to be repaired.

They waited for a moment longer before the man looked at her, putting a finger to his lips before cracking the door slightly open. After nothing assaulted him he grew bolder, opening it further until he could step out again.

"Looks like the guard is guarding form the outside," he whispered to her after opening her side of the cabinet too, offering her a hand to step out.

As she certainly didn't want to fall over any of the swords and make a lot of noise with them she took it, albeit grudgingly and never stopping to glare at him.

"This was a horrible idea!" she hissed, making him shrug.

"We haven't been caught yet, right? Although, if that's supposed to stay that way, we should get out of here now."

"And how? The room only has one door in case you forgot!"

The man seemed thoughtful for a moment, before his gaze landed on the window and he grinned.

"Let's jump."

" _What_?"

But he had already started walking to the window, opening it wide to look outside.

She followed with a huff, if only to judge the distance to the ground for herself. They were in the third floor, so they couldn't simply climb. Usually that height didn't pose a problem for her of course, but she couldn't very well show this guy what she could do. He would already remember her way too much, adding in the fact she knew how to use the Force would complicate things too much.

So, what to do instead...? Also, how did _he_ want to get down?

The second question at least was answered as he simply let himself fall down, landing perfectly well on the ground.

Her eyes widened and she leant out, wanting to make sure he was fine. Could this have been dumb luck or was there more behind it...?

He motioned for her to jump after him, holding out his arms as if to signalise her that he would catch her.

She stared at him, mouthing "Are you crazy?" after a moment. She certainly wouldn't-

The push that made her lose her balance came absolutely surprising, causing her to only barely hold off a scream as she fell...

...only to be caught by the guy, who wore a huge grin by now.

"You alright? I saw you stumble up there," he asked innocently and her glare intensified. Her sense of balance was perfect, this guy _was_ able to use the Force! No wonder he was allowed to seemingly do as he pleased, the ability to use the Force was rather rare and to have one in the military was incredibly helpful.

Of course, she couldn't blame him for what he had done without explaining how she knew, so she just huffed, relaxing just a bit once the adrenaline of the fall left her body. Seriously, if he hadn't caught her she could have been injured! Not much probably, but still!

When he finally let her go and helped her to stand upright again she busied herself with straightening her dress and was just done when the guy gripped her wrist again, pulling her with him.

"Come on, we shouldn't linger here, the guard might have noticed something. I'll show you the gardens instead!"

She let herself get pulled away with a small sigh, guessing that protesting wouldn't help anyone as he would do what he wanted anyway.

Spoiled brat.

Though when they arrived in the gardens Asajj at least had to admit that they really were beautiful. Many neatly trimmed hedges framed the paths, with rose bushes in between and flowerbeds spread in the distance. In the darkness of the night, only illuminated by the moon and what little light fell through the large windows of the ball room, it looked almost magical.

"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" the man commented from the side, causing her to realise that she must have shown her awe pretty openly. Something she usually tried to prevent. She hated being read by other people after all, as she knew best what one could do if someone presented his emotions all too open.

So she hid her emotions back behind her mask, although still nodding along.

"Yes, it's really beautiful."

He continued walking for a bit longer, until stopping at a bench, motioning for her to sit down. Which she did after a moment of hesitation, causing him to sit down beside her.

"Uh... I'm sorry, by the way," he started then, causing her to look at him questioningly. "For this whole 'Let's hide in a cabinet' thing. I mean, it was probably the best option we had, but... I'm sorry for forgetting about this visit. It kinda ruined the fun, didn't it?"

She blinked in surprise, not really having expected an apology.

"It's... fine," she said, surprising herself with the truth. For she knew that she should have been angered by all this, but... in truth, it had been surprisingly fun. She hadn't done anything silly or reckless for years, so... it was refreshing, somehow. His whole personality was, to be honest. Very different to what she usually experienced, from dumb farmers to stuck up politicians. He was... rather nice, if a bit awkward with words, but definitely not stupid.

She sighed, trying to change her train of thoughts away from that. After all, tomorrow this whole thing would be over, she would return to Dooku's services and never see this guy again - provided that he would never guard a victim of hers. Something she dearly hoped.

"Are you alright? You weren't hurt by the fall, were you?" he then asked worriedly, making her finally snap out of it.

"No, I'm good, sorry. I was just... thinking," she muttered, and although he looked at her with this slightly disbelieving glance again he thankfully didn't comment.

Instead, he looked thoughtful for a moment, before smiling again.

"So then, what I wanted to ask you... If you had some sort of training with the sword, do you have a preferred fighting style?"

xxx

She didn't quite remember how, but in the end they had begun a serious debate about various fighting styles, their strengths and weaknesses and how to best counter them. Asajj really hadn't expected this, but she was having a lot of fun, for once being able to discuss what she usually either learned in solitude or practised under the iron fist of Dooku.

And their discussion went on for a long time, until, during a comfortable break, they realised how soft music had begun to play. It seemed that the ball room dancing had begun again after a break for food and more mingling.

She looked over to the ballroom where, from their position, the dance floor was surprisingly easy to see, and sighed slightly.

While she didn't mind the talking - on the contrary, she hadn't talked to someone else like that in _ages_! - she felt a little bit frustrated at being denied a possibility to dance.

That was, until the man next to her stood up and placed himself in front of her.

"May I have this dance, milady?" he asked with a small bow, causing her to blink in surprise at his sudden change in demeanour.

"Huh?" was, as such, the only thing she really answered.

He cleared his throat.

"That's the part where you answer me, preferably with a 'yes'," he muttered, though she could still hear how he actually sounded a bit nervous. Despite herself she had to chuckle at his antics. She couldn't just help it, this really was rather cute.

"Alright then," she finally answered after letting him fidget for a moment longer, before taking his offered hand to pull herself up too.

"Uh... by the way, I can only dance Waltz, I hope that's alright with you?" he muttered hesitantly, causing her to shake her head slightly, but smile.

"It's fine." Somehow she hadn't expected much more of him anyway, though she was glad that he could dance at all. Or at least she hoped he could. Dancing with people who couldn't usually was... annoying, to put it nicely.

Obviously relieved at her words he now straightened a bit more, leading her a few steps away to a patch of green that was big enough to dance, before placing his hand on her waist.

So they started to dance, moving around the gardens, first slowly and steadily, as if trying to make sure that the other actually _could_ dance. Thankfully he could, at least this one dance, so soon the atmosphere relaxed and they spent the time twirling around to the music that was still easily audible from the castle, even trying out a few bolder moves, never stopping in an endless whirl of rhythm... Nobody was here after all, nobody could see them as they simply used the time to enjoy themselves a little, away from pressure and expectations...

xxx

Asajj didn't know how long they were dancing, forgetting everything around her for once until only the two of them were left, but in the end they had to come to a stop, both breathing a little quicker as they just stood there, still holding each other, letting the music wash over them.

She looked at him, wanting to say something to break the silence, but as her pale blue eyes met his darker blue ones she couldn't. His look was making shivers run along her back and although she _knew_ this was a horrible idea it was getting harder and harder to keep her wits together... Before she even realised it they suddenly found themselves with a lot less space between their faces than before, their noses were already almost touching...

In a last effort to keep herself from letting her eyes fall shut and do something she might regret later she tried looking away from him, no matter how difficult it was to take her eyes off of his face...

So she looked past him, just for a moment, directly into the ball room as he was standing with his back to it. And by pure chance noticed Dooku, who was just telling his goodbyes to the king.

She froze, eyes widening as she realised what that meant. She had forgotten the time so completely, she _needed_ to be back at his manor before him!

So she did the only thing she could think of as panic began to cloud her mind even worse than any other feeling could right now: She pushed the man away from her, taking a few steps back.

"Hey!" he called, his voice showing how confused and hurt he must have been. But she had no time!

"I- Sorry, I just... forgot the time, I need to go!"

She really _was_ sorry, more so than she wanted to admit even, but she had no time for explanations, so she turned and ran, through the garden and around a few corners, making sure he wouldn't be able to see her as she focussed in the Force and simply _jumped_ on the tall wall surrounding the castle, before jumping back down on the other side, immediately making her way to her speeder she had wisely parked a small distance away from everything. She had no time for formalities anymore, she had to rush!

On the way back, she tried not to think of the face the man had made when she had left, looking so hurt, almost lost... Though judging from the weird feeling inside of her, maybe some part of her had stayed with him anyway...

xxx

In the end, Asajj barely managed to get back in time, changing clothes and putting the gown back in her box just as Dooku arrived and she had to go out to greet him.

Thankfully he didn't have much to say except for his usual tales of how _great_ the ball had been and how important an event it had been. Although it wasn't yet clear if the prince had actually found a bride, but that would become obvious in time.

Asajj barely listened though, letting her usual anger flow through her, but that time it was also with herself. She had been so incredibly stupid for doing this...

And still, when she went to sleep later that evening she did take out the picture of her father once again, whispering a "Thanks." to it before putting it back and going to sleep, promising herself to put every thought of this evening out of her head for the time being. It was something she could remind herself of much later again, once she had gotten her emotions back under control, really...

xxx

The next week was calm for her - too calm, really - so when she finally got called into Dooku's private study about eight days after the ball, just after lunch, she was quick to answer but nonetheless wary as she knelt down, awaiting his orders.

"Your new target will be Prince Anakin," Dooku said, as usual without any preamble, coming directly to the point.

Asajj's eyes widened a little anyway. She had expected a higher ranking target of course, but this?

"The prince, master? Are you sure?"

She regretted asking a moment later, when lightning bolts flickered over her skin, making her scream out in pain, arching her back.

"Remember your place, Asajj," Dooku said, his voice calm but cold as he kept the lightning in place. "It isn't your role to ask questions."

He stopped the torture and she fell back to the ground, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry," she rasped out, cursing herself for forgetting one of the most important unwritten rules with Dooku: Never question his decisions based on your _opinion_.

"Now, I have been hearing how he is usually out and about these days, looking for some woman he met at the ball. This means he is away from the castle and easily accessible," he explained, uncaring about how she tried to sit up again, doing her best to ignore the quickly fading pain for the moment and listen. "I want you to dress up as an assassin from our neighbouring kingdom. The clothes shall be brought to your room later. Make it look like the assassination came from them."

Asajj gasped slightly as she understood what this was about. If it looked like another kingdom had murdered a prince, there would be war, forcing the king to rely on his consultants even more. Or maybe even die and leave his son to rule, who was not quite as experienced yet and grieving about the loss of his family? With that, Dooku would always come out as the winner, she guessed. He was cunning like that.

"You are my best assassin. Do not disappoint me," he told her sternly, his tone dismissing.

"Yes, master," she growled out, before getting up and leaving the room as straight as she could. She hated feeling so weak against him, but at least it was a job worthy of her again.

She would do all she could to do this perfectly, if not for him than to show herself she was still the best. It was the only thing she could do anyway.

xxx

Deep in the night of the following day Asajj finally stood in front of the second floor window of a rather nondescript inn, clad in the traditional assassin's clothing of the neighbouring kingdom. She had spent her time preparing everything, from looking for where the prince was currently located at - she hadn't dared to close in too much, but a group of five snooping around town _was_ pretty noticeable and it fit with Dooku's information - to making sure she knew exactly which inn he would use and in which room he would sleep.

The latter had been a bit annoying, sure, but checking in to the inn herself for free access and later subtly questioning the innkeeper about why there was a man lurking in front of one of the rooms quickly gave her the answers she wanted. And even though she had yet to see the prince himself it seemed that he was rather well-known in this part of town as they readily told her of his residence in the inn.

Weird, but all the better for her, really.

Now the only thing left was doing the deed and for that she had waited several hours already, to make sure her victim was fast asleep. It was long past midnight already and the moon was high in the sky when she finally decided that she had waited long enough.

Making sure her hood covered all of her hair she fastened the mask around her head - a full face-mask in white, only having cross-shaped slits for the eyes, as used by the other kingdom's assassins - and looked around for a moment to grow accustomed to her now restricted field of vision.

Afterwards she began the ascent of the wall, that, while not growing any vines, still was uneven enough to be able to climb it. The window was easily opened from the outside with the Force then, as the locking mechanism wasn't anything too fancy, and soon enough she silently climbed in, casting her shadow over the room only for a moment before stopping in a shadowy corner for a second to get an overview - and to make sure her target hadn't woken up. The clothing was dark enough to camouflage her a bit, but not if she moved around too much.

The room was small - only a bed, a cupboard, a table with a chair and a door that probably led to a bathroom - but she could easily see how someone was lying in the bed on his back. His face was in the shadows and he had an arm covering it - probably to block out the moonlight that must have hit it when he fell asleep - but she didn't look too closely. She had no doubt that it was the prince, she had double-checked.

She snuck closer to the bed, staying at the side away from the window to give her an easier sight in the moonlight, as she drew a short steel knife coated in venom - it wasn't her preferred weapon of course, but it was what was expected of the assassins she was impersonating. Her gaze was focussed on where his heart was located, as she raised the knife to strike...

And then everything happened at once.

She began her stabbing motion just as the prince's hand, that had previously been on his face, shot up, grabbing her wrist _hard_ , turning it in a way that forced her to let go of the knife.

A moment later she was pulled forward and, still in shock at how her attack had been deflected so easily, suddenly found herself lying on the bed, the prince above her, his second arm now gripping her other wrist while his legs made sure she couldn't even kick him, no matter how much she tried, if only a split second too late.

At least until she looked up to his moonlit face, which made her freeze up completely.

Staring at her was none other than the mysterious man she had met only a week ago on the ball.

And suddenly everything _made sense_. His knowledge about the castle, his nonchalant way of breaking whatever rules had been set up, his use of the Force... And hadn't the prince been looking for someone he had met on the ball...? She couldn't quite believe this was supposed to be _her_ , but... She _had_ left him rather hurriedly and quite in the middle of something else...

Still, knowing this changed _everything_. For while she had cone her best to bury her memories as deeply as possible it had been hard to forget this evening completely. Of course, she had always been telling herself that a little crush didn't matter anyway for she wouldn't see him again... But, obviously she had been wrong.

What remained was the fact, that she now had more problems that she could think of. For besides the fact that she had obviously been caught, she realised she _couldn't_ kill him anymore, even if she had the chance. Not now, knowing it was _him_.

Which meant that Dooku would kill her.

All these thoughts shot through her brain in the short moment of silence between them, as she knew she was doomed even before she heard him speaking up, his voice just as she remembered it - although a lot darker.

"Who do you think you are, huh? Killing me isn't _that_ easy."

She winced at the thought that it had been way too close anyway. Knowing what she did now, the idea of actually killing him was repulsing her. To think she wouldn't even have realised until it would have been too late...

He huffed.

"No answer? Fine, then let's see who we have below that mask..."

Asajj stiffened as he pulled her arms together over her head to hold both of her wrists tight with one hand. For a moment she once again thought of struggling, but in her current position she knew it would be futile. Also, it probably was inevitable for him to find out now anyway, so she might as well get it over with...

As such she just let it happen as his now free hand went to the mask and ripped it off with a quick motion, causing her to hiss slightly in discomfort at the feeling of the band holding the mask in place ripping.

She didn't dare looking into his eyes as her face was revealed and as such she only heard the shocked gasp once he recognized her, not seeing anything but the wall on the far side of the room. She didn't want to deal with the hatred that would undoubtedly be visible in his face now... It was probably best if she prepared herself for execution already.

What surprised her though was how his only obvious reaction was a question, after a moment of silence.

" _Y-You_ wanted to kill me? I haven't been _that_ horrible to you, have I?"

Unable to stop herself her eyes returned to him, locking with his in utter confusion. He seemed only shocked right now. Where was the disgust? Hatred? Anything?

" _What_?" was the only thing she got out, not even pretending to understand what he was talking about. Why was he even thinking of it like _that_?

"Alright, so that doesn't seem to be it," he muttered, relief in his voice, although he began frowning then. "So... This isn't anything personal, yes?"

She looked away again, unable to process his look - and not wanting to admit these things to his face anyway.

"It's not. I didn't even know it was you..."

His whole posture relaxed at that, and although he didn't let her go his grip wasn't quite as iron hard anymore, confusing her further. She had tried to kill him, why was he relaxing? Was he really believing himself that much above her?

"Glad to hear that," he stated, sounding almost happy with it!

Unable to stay calm anymore Asajj pushed against him in frustration.

"Why are you acting like that?" she growled, glaring at him, causing him to once again look surprised.

"Like what?"

"Like it doesn't bother you at all that I tried to kill you just now!"

He blinked, as if that hadn't even occurred to him, but then just shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm not the type of person who is very bothered with that I guess... I mean, of course I don't much _like_ attempts on my life, but... Well, at least it brought you to me."

He had the nerve to grin at her after that, making her heart skip a beat before she could get herself back under control.

"So... the person you were looking for..." she began, distracted from her situation for the moment simply because she needed to know if she was imagining things.

He smiled.

"Yes, it seems that I just found her. Not in the way I imagined, certainly, but... Well, I can't say I mind. You're pretty soft, you know?"

Asajj glared at him again as she flushed, trying once more to wriggle free.

The prince - damn it was still so difficult to believe she had been dancing with _him_ of all people! - just smirked.

"Nope, I certainly won't let you free right now just so you'll escape again. Not after I spend so much time actually trying to catch you."

She scowled, but the light blush just didn't want to leave her face. Although the word 'catch' brought her back to the harsh reality way too quickly. She was still very much dead, no matter how odd the prince acted.

"So, I'll get executed anyway I assume?"

The prince's eyes widened.

" _Executed_? Are you crazy? Why would I want to let people execute you?"

She couldn't help but wonder who of them really was crazy here...

"The punishment for assassination attempts on royalty usually is death, isn't it?" she asked dryly, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe, but since nobody knows of this except for me... Why would this matter? I'm certainly not letting you get killed now!"

"But it would be proper!"

He frowned at her in confusion.

"What's wrong with you...? It's like you _want_ to get executed.'

She looked away once again, trying to hide the fear that was growing inside of her whenever she thought of Dooku's reaction to this.

"Beats getting killed by other means," she muttered, not really intending it to be heard by him. He did anyway - it wasn't as if there were other sounds around anyway - tilting his head in curiosity.

"What do you mean by that? Surely your guild won't kill you because of one failed mission?"

"Huh?" Guild? What was he talking about?

Only when he indicated at her clothing she realised what this was about.

"Those clothes. They belong to an assassination guild from our neighbours, do they not?"

"I guess..."

Damn, she had totally forgotten about this. Sadly, she didn't know much about those assassins though, besides what weapons they used for killing. She hadn't had _that_ much time to prepare and Dooku had provided her with everything else.

"You sound unsure," the prince was stating just then. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. She knew it was obvious that something was wrong, but she couldn't betray Dooku. She just... couldn't.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, right..."

Like she thought, his disbelief was obvious, but instead of drilling her more, the other just stayed quiet for a long moment. Thinking about what to do with her? She didn't know.

When he spoke up again, it - once again - wasn't anything she expected though.

"Say... What's your name?"

"Huh?"

Great, with the amounts of 'What?'s and 'Huh?'s she was making, he would soon see her as mentally challenged or something... But he just kept saying so weird things!

"Well, it's obvious that you don't really want to tell me things about why you're here besides the fact that you didn't know it was me. But I do want to know more about you. So I thought I'd start with something innocent. And I guess you already know, but if it makes you feel better: I'm Anakin."

It didn't made her feel better in the least, but she still couldn't help but stare at him in wonder. He really was unlike anyone else she had encountered so far. He was a prince, yet acted almost nothing like it, he was awkward with words and obviously a good fighter, strong and with crazy reflexes.

Coupled with the fact that, despite everything, she hadn't really been able to get his face out of her mind for the last week it probably wasn't very surprising that she felt herself unable to resist as his curious eyes burned into hers.

"Asajj..." she muttered, hating herself for feeling so weak but at the same time not really minding. What was he doing with her, really, this was so frustrating!

His blinding smile afterwards didn't help either.

"Asajj, huh?" he repeated, seemingly unaware of how this sent a shiver down her spine. Seriously, the close proximity to him was making it even worse! "Nice name, it has a certain ring to it."

She only shrugged, feeling a little helpless below him... Had his face always been this close to hers?

She clenched her eyes shut after a moment of struggling with herself. No, she couldn't think of that, he was the _prince_ , and as such represented the nobles she resented so much! Also, even though she might have once been a noble too, this was long over and by now she was just-

Her train of thought stopped as she suddenly felt a warm touch on her lips. Her eyes shot open in surprise the moment she realised he was kissing her, but while her first instinct was to run, the fact that he was still holding her tight made that rather difficult. And it was feeling rather nice, her heart was beating so fast...

He broke the kiss after a moment, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Uh, sorry about that, I know it was a bit sudden, I just-"

This time it was her silencing him as she raised her head to seal his lips once again.

Her life was already over anyway, so she could just as well have some fun with the time she had left, right...?

xxx

Asajj didn't know how long this went on or when Anakin - for she refused to see the prince in him, at least for the time being - had stopped holding her wrists, for her arms were wrapped around his neck, she only froze when there was heavy knocking coming from the door, breaking away from the kiss with a thundering heart.

"Sir? I need to talk to you. It's urgent."

The other uttered a quiet, not very noble curse before sighing, looking at her apologetically. She was pleased to see though that his breathing had quickened, going about as fast as hers did.

"I'm sorry, we'll have to continue later," he whispered into her ear after leaning down once again, causing her to shiver slightly. Oh this was _so_ not how a prince should be acting... And she liked it way too much.

She didn't expect him to just straighten though, not even thinking about getting up.

"What's up?" he called through the door, making Asajj's eyes widen.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed almost frantically. "He'll see-"

The door opened and a soldier entered, wearing the traditional outfit of the royal guard, making her freeze up again.

The man surprised her though, by barely looking at her, only checking out the scene for a moment before closing the door with a sigh and locking his eyes on Anakin.

"I won't ask sir, but next time I'll position a guard at the window too, no matter what you're saying," he muttered dryly. It seemed as if he was accustomed with the strange personality of his boss, then.

Anakin just waved him off.

"Whatever, so, what was so important that you needed to enter my room in the middle of the night?"

"Well..." Another quick look at her, then the guard continued. "We've received notice that an assassination attempt would be made at the royal family soon. As such, you are supposed to return to the castle immediately."

Anakin's eyebrows rose as Asajj stiffened even more. What was this about? Had Dooku been found out...?

"Really? Who notified us about that?"

"Count Dooku, sir. He didn't want to reveal his spies, but he said that at least one assassin was surely already on its way."

Asajj was now positively shocked. Dooku had done... _what_? She tuned out the two men as they began to discuss if 'returning immediately' meant 'right now' or 'first thing in the morning' - with Anakin, of course, strongly voting for the latter - as she tried to deal with the facts.

Dooku had betrayed her.

Of course, if things would have gone according to plan she would have already been on her way back, but... Dooku had no way of knowing that. He just gave her the information and things she needed and let her do her job. Only if she didn't complete it within a week without reason there would be problems. No, to her this looked pretty clear. He had sold her out to the royal family.

But _why_?

To make sure she wouldn't be believed should she get caught?

Of course... Her killing Anakin would have been good for him, and her failing and getting captured would mean nothing if he at the same time told the royals about her attempt... It would make her claims against him void even _if_ she decided to betray him, for it would seem like she was trying to blacken his name as an act of revenge for busting her.

She was caught in this web even worse than she had realised it seemed...

Trying to focus back on the conversation for now in hopes of being able to deal with this later, she only caught part of the currently spoken sentence.

"-don't need more protection!" Anakin was claiming, looking irritated.

The guard at the same time seemed resigned.

"I know, but the count insisted on sending help. We can't have him make more than fifty men come to us just to send them away again."

"Yeah yeah... Still, this is totally overrated. Ask Obi-Wan, I'm sure he'll agree with there being something fishy!"

"Yes, I know you and your brother do not like Count Dooku much, but your father does and as such those guards will stay. It's just for a few weeks anyway, I am sure whatever assassins might come in the meantime will be either caught or sent back."

"Alright, whatever... I'll return first thing tomorrow, yes?"

"Of course, sir. Then..." Another gaze towards her. "I'll leave you for the night. Please do not stay up for too long."

Anakin grinned.

"You're the best, Rex."

The guard left, but Asajj didn't relax in the slightest. Her mind was still busy with what else the man had said.

Anakin waited only a moment longer after the door was closed before turning back towards her, looking worried.

"What's wrong?"

She stared at him for a moment, knowing that this might be the only chance she would have at telling him the truth before it would be too late. She would have to betray Dooku, something she didn't want to do despite everything, but... he had never trusted her in the first place it seemed. Which made sense in a way, but betraying her like that? It _hurt_. And it made her long for revenge.

So she was going down anyway... Then she could at least try to take him with her.

"Count Dooku doesn't have 'more than fifty men' to spare," she stated evenly, relaying the last thing that had bothered her in all of this.

Anakin frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath.

"Count Dooku's personal guard consists of twenty men. Added to that the guard of his other residence of ten people and a group of mercenaries he has under an exclusive contract, maybe another ten. He would have needed to sent all of them plus another group of hired mercenaries to get even close to fifty, but they would never be 'his men'."

He stared at her long enough for her to turn away again. Of course this had to turn awkward...

"You're not really from an assassin's guild, are you?" he finally asked, causing her to snort.

"Duh. Though it would make things a lot easier I suppose."

"Why? If you're not from another country after all... Who sent you? And why are you wearing their clothes?"

She looked back at him, her anger rising. Not necessarily at him, but mainly at Dooku, for ever bringing her into such a situation. And at herself, for not being strong enough, neither to stand up for herself, nor for doing what she had been tasked to.

But his look of confusion and worry - worry _for her_ , it seemed - was simply too much as she finally gave in, telling him everything.

xxx

In the end she told him almost the whole story of her life, with how she had been a noble, her father killed, their fortune taken, forced into working with Dooku even as he continued her sword training, shaping her into the assassin she was now. She skipped a lot of the details of her past, but told him of the more renowned people she had killed and how she had actually been forbidden to go to the ball.

She carefully omitted her meeting with the ghostly appearance of her father of course and tried not to go into too much detail of what Dooku liked to do if he was angry with her, but it was still a rather complete overview, for after having started she realised that she couldn't stop anymore.

At least Anakin was very nice about it all, being mostly quiet as he listened to her tale without interrupting her, although she had noticed how he had looked rather disbelieving at first when she had implied that Dooku of all people was training people to be assassins. But he had stayed quiet until she had finished with how she had received her orders to kill him and why she thought Dooku was planning something more, with him sending soldiers in he didn't have.

When she was finally done, trying her best to keep her face from showing the onslaught of emotions that were raging inside of her, the first thing he did was to bend down to her and give her a hug.

"I know it won't help much, but... I'm sorry for what you went through," he muttered, causing her to stiffen a little as she did her best to blink away the tears that had started to collect in her eyes. She would _not_ cry, not now... There were more important things to do!

Taking a few deep breaths to regain control over her body functions she allowed herself to indulge in the warm embrace for a moment longer, before lightly pushing him away.

"So... you believe me?" she asked, just to be sure. She knew compared to what he must think of Dooku, as the benevolent count and trusted man of the king, it surely wouldn't be easy, but he didn't look like he thought she was crazy either.

Anakin shrugged.

"Actually it's not that difficult to believe in. Dooku has always been a little shady to me. Even Obi-Wan didn't much like him, though he also never quite shared my suspicions."

She blinked a few times to comprehend what he was saying. So... he _did_ believe her? Somehow, that thought was almost difficult to form, no matter how much she had hoped for it to be the case.

"Thank you," she muttered very quietly, looking away. She still caught his soft smile from the corner of her eyes though.

"You're welcome," he answered just as softly, before running one of his hands through her hair.

Her breath hitched at the feeling, but she reminded herself to concentrate before speaking up again.

"You should probably return to the castle as soon as possible anyway. I don't know if Dooku has planned anything, but if so he would strike today, as long as you are gone. You _do_ have quite a reputation as a fighter after all."

He looked at her almost pouting.

"Are you sure? Maybe you just forgot something?"

She stared.

"It's possible. But do you really want to take that chance?"

Grimacing at the thought he sighed.

"No, of course not... Alright, we'll return right away then. Do you have any other clothes you can wear though? I guess an assassin's outfit isn't the most fitting for the castle..."

"What... are you talking about?" What did it matter what she wore?

"Well, you didn't think I'd just let you run away again, now that I finally found you, did you?" he asked, causing her to stiffen a little.

So it was an arrest after all...?

He frowned after a moment as he straightened himself again, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"Alright, that came out wrong, wait a moment..." He was quiet, obviously thinking about what to say now. "What I meant was... I really started to like you and, judging from your earlier actions you're not quite disinterested either, right? So... It would be great if you could stay with me for a bit longer, at least until this Dooku business is cleared... You know?"

"You do realise that 'clearing this Dooku business' would most probably result in my execution?" she asked evenly after making sure he was done speaking. "For someone who claims to not want that this might not be the right course of action."

He stared at her, an eyebrow raised.

"For someone who seems rather competent to me it's surprising that you still didn't get that there were no witnesses for your actions. If you'll stay silent, I'll stay silent. Rex didn't see enough to testify anything and wouldn't go against my word anyway."

For that she didn't have an answer right away, just gaping slightly at him. Why was he so willing to do these things for her? She just... didn't get it.

"How... do I know this isn't a trap to get me to the castle to arrest me anyway?" she finally spat out, her innate sense of paranoia overshadowing the small hope that he was actually offering her a way out. Especially so since she still couldn't believe it would be _that_ easy.

His gaze softened as the corners of his mouth turned upwards, forming a small smirk.

"You don't. You'll just have to trust me..."

As he talked, he ran a finger along her jar, making her glare waver a bit. This was just- She couldn't believe he was a _prince_! He certainly behaved nothing like it with his smirk growing wider as he noticed her reaction. He did it again, just to spite her it seemed, before he grew serious again. "Honestly though, I'm really not the type of person to think of convoluted plans like that. If I wanted you dead I'd either do it myself or defeat you fair and square, tie you up and bring you to the castle like that."

She sighed softly. Put like that she could easily see what he was talking about, though that didn't mean she could agree on joining him. Trust... She hadn't trusted anyone for the last ten years, she wouldn't start again right now just because some overly handsome prince asked for it.

"Assuming I believe you, what else do you want to tell others why I am there?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging.

"I'll think of something. Shouldn't be too difficult and I'm good at improvising. So, do you have other clothes with you somewhere?"

She only huffed at his stubbornness, although glad to notice that he finally decided to get up from above her, stopping between the bed and the window. She wondered if he had done this by chance or to prevent her to flee as she sat up, stretching a little.

"I rented a room for the night. I put the clothes I arrived in there," she finally confessed, guessing that for the time being it would be easier to cooperate. Maybe she could give him the slip later. For despite his reassurances she couldn't accept that this would be turning out alright. Nothing in her life ever did it seemed, so it certainly wouldn't start now.

"Great. Then let's go, lead the way."

She frowned at him. So he really wanted to play guard now? Great... Still, she didn't have many options at the moment, so she got up from the bed and walked over to the door. She considered running from there, but then again... where to? She hadn't come prepared for a situation like _that_ and she was missing basically everything for a clean escape.

This was _so_ going to go wrong.

xxx

She didn't need long to put on her normal, if rather tight, clothes - though she could have done without Anakin standing in front of the window, making sure she didn't climb out. Though at least he possessed the grace to turn away from her.

When she announced herself finished, leaning on a nearby wall with her arms crossed in a mixture of frustration - at being basically forced to join him - and nervousness - she couldn't help it, it was his presence! - he turned back to her. Only to stare, raising his eyebrows a bit in the process.

"Uh... You're looking pretty good," he said after a moment, obviously having searched for fitting words before. "That's not exactly what's worn at court."

She shrugged.

"It's rather comfortable, surprisingly. And it's not like I have much to do with a court anymore." She tried to sound carefree while saying that but the look he gave her made her wonder how successful she had been at hiding her displeasure. He didn't comment though, instead looking her over for a moment longer - seriously, had he no decency? - before focussing on her face and clearing his throat.

"What I actually wanted to say... While _I_ certainly don't mind this outfit it might bring people to question your reason for being at the castle... And if there really is something fishy going on I'd rather not be held back by useless questions from nobles."

"Looks like you'll have to go alone then," she just retorted, all too happily giving up his stupid plan.

Sadly, he didn't seem to agree with her.

"No way. How tall are you?"

"What?"

What was he trying to do _now_? Not that he seemed very interested in explaining it upfront.

"Just tell me."

She sighed in defeat.

"One eighty."

Anakin smirked.

"Good." He then walked over to the door and opened it a little. "Hey Rex, do you have some extra uniform?"

Asajj stared at Anakin, wondering if he actually had gone mad. He wasn't suggesting what she thought he was, right...?

Rex seemed similarly confused, for the only thing she heard was a confused "Sir?".

"Come on, just get me one of those in here, I know you like to come prepared. Oh, and we'll be leaving in a few minutes after all, so tell the others to be ready."

"Yes, sir," the man answered, sounding resigned. Somehow Asajj could believe that Anakin did that to others a lot. She didn't feel much better right now either after all.

"You want me to disguise as a guard?" she asked after he had closed the door again, eyebrow raised.

He turned to look at her, smiling happily as if it was the most usual situation ever.

"Yeah. Rex is only a bit taller than you, it should fit well enough. And nobody cares if there are more guards around me than usual, I'm _always_ running around with guards."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he quickly put a finger on her lips, silencing her for the moment as she stared in surprise.

"Please, just trust me this once..." he said, once again looking at her with soft eyes, though the fire behind them was easily visible still. Again with this trust thing... "It's only for the time being, I swear that you are free to go once this whole business has settled down. But if it's true that Count Dooku is planning something I would like to know that you are safe."

She closed her eyes in frustration. If he kept repeating this, she might even start believing it, which was probably the worst she could do. She knew it was better to expect the worst so trusting him to keep her safe just didn't cut it.

Still, Asajj nodded after a moment. For while she didn't believe in him being able to provide safety for her, she did believe him that he would do his best to not let her go until 'this business was over', so it was probably best to get it done quickly. Especially so since she might even get some revenge on Dooku if she was lucky. Something that happened rarely enough, but wasn't impossible. She hoped.

xxx

Only a moment later Rex brought the uniform then and she put it on, simply pulling the important things over her tight clothes that she preferred to wear anyway. Only when she finally pulled out her two lightsabers from the assassin clothes - she certainly wouldn't leave them behind, even if it meant revealing them to others, they were the most valuable things she possessed! - Anakin spoke up again.

"'Vibroblades', huh?" He sounded rather amused as he referenced her telling him her 'favourite weapon' at the ball, so she shrugged.

"Everything else would have seemed weird."

"Fair enough. You make a beautiful guard though."

She blushed slightly but still rolled her eyes at the obvious way of flirting with her. He just winked with a smile before continuing to talk.

"Let's get going then, I'm sure Rex and his men are already waiting."

She sighed, resisting the temptation to ask again if she really had to come, before nodding.

"Very well then, let's get this over with."

xxx

The way back to the castle was mostly spent in silence, except for a small squabble when Anakin insisted that Asajj had to sit behind him on his speeder instead of using her own.

Of course he won the fight so she had grudgingly sat behind him, trying to ignore how nice his upper body felt against her arms as she wrapped them around him to hold on.

They stopped the speeders a little distance away from the castle - rather close to where she had parked her own speeder during the ball, if she remembered correctly - and walked the rest of the way, with Rex and another guard in the front, Anakin and Asajj in the middle and two more guards behind them.

At least until Rex suddenly put them all to a stop, still quite a distance away from the castle in the shadows of the trees growing along the way.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked, sounding alert.

"I'm not sure sir, but there is something fishy going on," Rex said quietly, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Check the palace guards."

Anakin followed his gaze and Asajj did the same, just out of curiosity, but she couldn't really make out much. It was still dark outside as the sun wouldn't go up for another few hours but the moon shone bright enough to illuminate two figures at the front gates.

They certainly looked like palace guards to her, but Anakin's quiet curse seemed to prove her wrong.

"What's wrong?" she finally muttered after nobody said anything else for a moment.

Anakin looked over to her, worry showing on his face, to her surprise.

"Those guards aren't wearing our uniforms. They're soldiers alright, but if I remember correctly the uniform belongs to Serenno guards. And we _never_ station other guards at the main door but ours."

Her eyes widened. So Dooku's men had already begun executing whatever scheme he had planned? This wasn't good.

"So, shall we dispose of them?" one of the other guards asked, his voice steely.

But Anakin shook his head, eyes returning back to the main gate.

"No, not yet. It might alert the others in the castle and cause them to speed up their plans. We have to enter the castle undetected for now."

"But how?"

The guard looked confused, causing Anakin to smirk.

"Leave that to me."

xxx

Asajj guessed she should have expected that even though the castle walls _seemed_ to be made purely of stone this wasn't the case everywhere. Pressing a seemingly random stone in the wall Anakin made a small scanner appear, entered some sort of code and waited. A moment later a small hole in the wall appeared and they all hurried through it, though not without Rex muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "So _that's_ how you've been doing it."

She personally would have believed he was jumping, for it wasn't _that_ hard, but of course, with multiple guards around it wouldn't work that well, so having a secret tunnel like that was rather helpful.

Their original plan to hurry to Prince Obi-Wan got pushed out of their minds for a moment though the moment they discovered the first corpse.

A royal guard lay in the bushes not far from where they had come from. Rex and his men quickly tried to find out if he was still alive but the blood at the front of his uniform and the way the man seemed to stare into the distance made it obvious that this wasn't the case anymore. He was still warm though, so the attack couldn't have been that long ago. A good thing probably, despite everything.

They split up then, with three of the guards hurrying back to the barracks to alarm the complete guard that something very wrong and that Dooku's guards were not to be trusted, while Asajj followed Anakin and Rex who decided they needed to get to the other prince now faster than ever.

Not knowing anyone in the castle Asajj found it rather easy to keep a certain distance from the conflict so she noted with interest how Anakin's personality seemed to have changed completely once they had discovered the corpse.

Where he had been carefree and joking before he currently seemed serious and almost grim, holding himself a little straighter, in a similar way Rex did. Also he had drawn his own lightsaber, even if he hadn't yet turned it on as they hurried through narrows corridors and hidden doors in small alcoves.

They didn't meet another soldier on their way because of that, until they reached another passcode protected secret entrance it seemed, for the wall in front of them looked solid but a input device next to it suggested differently.

Anakin hurriedly entered another code and the wall - or, well, hidden door - shot up, opening the view to the room behind.

And while it did look like a nice room - with noble-looking wooden furniture and everything - Asajj's attention was quickly captured by something quite different.

There was a man standing at the bed, a vibroblade raised for the kill. She knew the stance, she had done it herself countless times already.

Before she could do more than register the situation though Anakin had already lunged forwards. In the blink of an eye he stood behind the man that had frozen in shock, obviously not expecting them. Which was his doom, as another split second later a glowing blue lightsaber was protruding from his chest.

The other prince seemingly had taken just that moment to awaken, for a surprised shout was heard as the man shot up, lightsaber in his hand in a flash as he stared with wide eyes at the two men in front of him. Anakin turned his own lightsaber off and let the man fall to the side, uncaring how the blade clattered to the ground too.

"A-Anakin, what's going on?" Prince Obi-Wan asked, obviously too shocked to maintain his usually so very calm facade.

"No time to explain, you need to find father and warn him. Dooku's soldiers are against us and if they've already reached your room they've come too far. I'll go back to the barracks and see if I can help the soldiers to weed out the rats."

Anakin was already turning back to where they had been coming from.

"Rex, you go with him, make sure mother and father are safe. Asajj, you're coming with me."

He had assumed the role of a natural leader it seemed and was giving orders with such conviction that Asajj didn't even think about objecting. Although to be fair, she wouldn't have wanted to stay with two people she knew even less than him anyway.

So instead she pressed herself to the wall, leaving Rex enough space to pass her to join the older prince and Anakin to enter the corridor again, almost immediately rushing away.

She stifled a sigh and followed, only hearing how a confused Prince Obi-Wan asked Rex what all this was about before they were too far away.

They managed to hurry halfway back before Asajj finally decided that he didn't seem to have a concrete plan - or if he did she didn't want to run after him anymore without knowing - and slowed down.

"Hey, prince! Wait!" he called after him as loud as she dared, making him stop and wince a little as he turned around.  
"Uh, can you maybe not call me that? I mean, I know my status should say it and blah, but..." He shook his head with a grimace. "Seriously, just call me Anakin."

She blinked at the reaction but shrugged, not necessarily wanting to start a discussion about that now. She had had another reason for calling him to a stop after all.

"Look, it's all well and good that you're rushing from one part of the castle to the other, but do you have a plan?"

Of course, in a way she could understand why he had rushed to his brother first - and it had turned out to be a good thing too - but now? The idea to 'weed out the rats' sounded tempting, but then, why were they hiding? The guard should already have been alarmed after all if the three guys from before had done their job, so there must be fights going on already.

"We meet up with the guards and then take everyone out who doesn't belong here," he replied a moment later, basically confirming again what he was planning. The answer didn't satisfy her though.

"Why are we hiding then? Wouldn't it be more effective to already take people out on the way to the guards? Provided they haven't already spread out anyway?" She watched him hesitating for a moment and frowned. "What's the matter? You're not thinking I can't defend myself just because you happened to surprise me once, are you?"

He flushed slightly but shook his head anyway. Not that it helped much in convincing her. She scowled.

"You know, my weapons aren't just decoration. I say we should start moving openly."

When he looked at her she met his gaze with her own, determined one, refusing to give in. She wasn't one of those royal princesses that needed to be protected at any given time and she would show him as much. She had made a mistake before, that was true, but she wouldn't make another this night, she would make sure of that.

Finally he nodded at her, albeit reluctantly.

"Fine. You win. We don't have time for an argument. Let's see how far inside the fake guards are. Just don't attack people who don't attack you first. I don't want this attempted murder that never happened turn into a real one, no matter how accidentally."

She just rolled her eyes at him. What did he take her for, an amateur? It seemed that she definitely had left the wrong first impression for him to think of her like that.

Well, she would have time now to convince him of something different. She was sure the halls would be full of Dooku's soldiers and killing a prince surely would be an achievement to boast about, so people would try.

She certainly wouldn't mind showing them their place.

xxx

It turned out that leaving the hidden corridors had been a good thing - though not for Dooku's people. For some reason Asajj at least spotted no real guards around though, something that gave her rather bad feelings.

Sure, she didn't much care for the guard in itself and she was actually rather happy to be fighting again - something that usually didn't happen during sneaky attempts on other people's lives - having forgotten the thrill it brought when parrying sword strikes with one of her lightsabers before using the other to strike. It even had the advantage of surprising Anakin, who clearly hadn't expected what he saw. She only hoped he wasn't disturbed or anything but she couldn't focus too much on him so she didn't know.

No, what really was bothering her was what it meant if there were no guards around. For either they had all been killed - something that seemed unlikely as the royal guard was one of the biggest guards in the country - or something was preventing them from joining. And this _something_ was unnerving her.

Anakin seemed to get increasingly worried too, for his expression turned fiercer for each enemy they killed.

Until they finally arrived at an open door leading to the courtyard and he held out his free hand, stopping her too.

"What?" she whispered in confusion. She probably could have talked normally too for they hadn't left any witnesses behind them, but she didn't want to risk being overheard from the front and as such loosing their element of surprise.

Anakin pointed out of the door in an angle she hadn't looked at before and as she did, her eyes widened slightly.

From there she could see much better how there was a group of people in front of the barracks, at least a dozen, with most of them holding vibroblades, but at least four had _blasters_ , pointing them at the door. She barely managed to hide a scoff. Cowards.

It did make sense though, explaining why there had been no guards around. They couldn't risk getting shot and with the door of the barracks being small, it would paint a perfect target on anyone that wanted to leave. If the enemy had covered the windows too it would be almost impossible to leave without a high death toll. Which then would put the remaining guards at a disadvantage against the vibroblade users.

Thankfully, the same problem didn't apply for coming from outside.

Anakin moved again, causing her gaze to focus back on him. He pointed at the guards, then raised his lightsabers, his gaze almost murderous, but also questioning, as if offering her a way out.

She just grabbed her own lightsabers a bit tighter before nodding, trying to hide the satisfied smirk that threatened to show. Oh she didn't mind this at all, she hadn't fought against a larger group of people for a while, but usually they tended to come in groups of one or two, so it might even be _fun_.

"On my mark," he muttered, before starting to creep out of the door, staying in the shadows of nearby bushes to remain hidden for as long as possible.

The men outside of the barracks only rarely looked back too, usually being too focussed on making sure nobody tried to escape.

"Now!"

Asajj jumped up and into the battle that Anakin started a second earlier by throwing his lightsaber and cutting deep into one of the blaster wielders, making him collapse. As Anakin worked on getting his lightsaber back into his hands with the Force, Asajj instead went on a bit more conventional, jumping between two surprised looking guards and impaling both of them at the same time with her two weapons of choice.

After this, the rest of the men finally started to move, shouting for backup, the first of them trying a frontal attack that caused Asajj to use both of her lightsabers to block it, before kicking the guy in the guts - maybe with a bit help form the Force - sending him flying away, just as the next one came towards her.

She ducked away from his blow, using her own blade to cut him down before having to block another blow. This time it was made a lot more difficult as the man the sword belonged to was quite a bit stronger than what had transpired before, so she was caught in a bladelock, leaving her vulnerable to attacks from others for a moment.

She didn't have to worry though, for suddenly a blue lightsaber protruded from the man's chest, making him go slack as Anakin appeared behind him.

She nodded her thanks before whirling around and looking for the next warrior.

xxx

Way too soon there were no enemies left to fight in her immediate vicinity anymore and she took the time to look around for a moment. The three guards from before had joined the fight and as such most soldiers were already down or running, except for a few that were either very brave or very stupid.

Anakin himself was fighting two of them at the same time it seemed and he was actually doing very well - she tried her best not to be distracted by the fact that his fighting style certainly underlined his masculinity - but then she noticed how a third guy - that had just been kicked away a few metres by one of the guards - shook himself out of his stupor and turned to attack Anakin instead.

Asajj reacted almost out of instinct then. She was too far away to intercept the hit but she knew if Anakin would even notice he might leave himself open for another hit if he blocked that one.

So she stretched out her hand, focussing on the assailant for a moment before _pulling_ , throwing him towards her. It took long enough to ready her other hand with the lightsaber meanwhile, impaling him once he came close.

She let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding as he slacked, while Anakin killed the two attackers near him.

After this the remaining soldier ran too, giving off a rather high-pitched scream. She just ignored him, letting the other body fall to the ground in front of her. There was no reason for her to chase the fleeing for now, so she turned her lightsabers off, putting them to her belt for the moment.

The fight had been surprisingly easy, really. She had expected more from Dooku's men, but then again, maybe they had caught the group of mercenaries. Rich mercenaries maybe, since blasters weren't easy to get, but also obviously not very courageous.

Well, they were done for now at least, so Asajj walked back to Anakin, just as the others did, gathering at the barracks doors.

Which was when she noticed how he was staring at her, causing her to frown.

"What's wrong?" she asked, trying to mask her insecurity. Sure, he had been very understanding as of yet, but she still couldn't help but mistrust the peace between them a little. Too much did she wonder how he must be thinking of her after discovering her true self.

"Nothing at all... I didn't realise that you were able to use the Force, though," he said, in a tone she couldn't quite judge.

"Well, I'm not the type of person to let everyone in on potential advantages," she countered defensively.

To her surprise, he began to smile at that.

"A good thing, I guess. Thank you for saving my life."

Her frown deepened.

"I didn't... You probably could have evaded the hit, or at least make it non-lethal."

"Maybe, but at least one of them would have hit, and possible even maimed me." His smile widened. "So just take the praise."

She looked to the side, trying not to blush at the way he was looking. Thankfully that made her gaze fall on one of the guards that seemed to be standing around almost awkwardly, shaking her out of her stupor.

Clearing her throat she pushed away all unfitting thoughts for the moment.

"Let's see if your guards are fine."

Anakin blinked in surprise, but then his face turned serious again and he nodded.

"Of course."

After looking around one more time to make sure nobody was around anymore he opened the door to the barracks.

At first Asajj couldn't see anyone, but Anakin didn't seem surprised by it.

"It's me, Anakin. We've cleared the entrance."

Immediately various men came into view, some even from directly behind the door. Seemingly they had counted on being able to ambush anyone who would actually enter the building if they couldn't leave it. Maybe making it seem like they had left through a hidden exit. Not a bad idea.

"Sir, I vote for adding secret exits to the barracks," one of the closer guards said dryly, causing Anakin to give him a weak smile.

"Proposal accepted, Kix. I'll look into it."

Once most of the soldiers had gathered around Anakin straightened a bit more, raising his voice to be heard by everyone.

"So, we're obviously having a problem here. Half of the castle has already been infiltrated by Dooku's men and possibly external mercenaries. Obi-Wan has been alerted and he and Rex are on their way to our parents. Still, we lost the castle gates so there's no knowledge about how many people entered the ground unauthorised."

His scowl deepened as he was talking and nobody said a word. He really had the soldiers under control it seemed.

"Now, I say we split up and you're trying to secure the castle, while me and a small group of men take the grounds. We need to secure the gate in case of reinforcements."

He looked at the soldiers for a moment before pointing at one of them. One that looked uncomfortably close to the person Asajj had originally assumed to be Anakin. Yeah, better not think of _that_.

"Cody, you're in command of the castle operation." Anakin then pointed at another guard. "Jesse, your men are coming with me."

A chorus of "Yes, sir!" echoed that once again impressed Asajj, and soon a group of five had split from the rest of the guard, standing at attention in front of Anakin. Who nodded at them, before waving them with him.

As they hurried over she noticed him looking over and stared right back.

"You don't need a break or something, do you?" he asked, making her snort.

"Don't insult me."

To her surprise he only smiled at the retort and nodded before concentrating back on hurrying to the gates.

xxx

It was good that they appeared when they did too, for there was already a decidedly big group of people arriving. Mostly mercenaries Asajj guessed, as they didn't wear any formal uniforms anymore, but they had vibroblades and some more blasters.

Immediately they were back in the battle, his blue and her red blades illuminating the surprised faces of the warriors, flashing through the people, leaving death in their wake.

She barely noticed how they got separated from each other as she fought the onslaught of people while the guards tried to get to the gates to close it and Anakin hunted those who tried to use the chaos to escape into the castle.

She rather wished she had watched out though when she suddenly heard a voice, its deep tones easily carrying over the sounds of the fight.

"So you turned out to be a disappointment at last."

Whirling around she didn't need to see Dooku standing there to know he had arrived.

"You!" she snarled, for once not trying to back down, although she did feel the fear rising up inside of her. Something she tried her best to squash. "You betrayed me! You informed them of my arrival!"

She jumped at him, lightsabers ready to strike, but in a flash his own lightsaber was out, blocking her red blades with a blue one.

"Silly girl," he told her, managing to sound perfectly calm and still incredibly disapproving as he diverted her blades before beginning to attack himself, soon enough bringing her to the defence. He was extremely good and even with a second lightsaber she could barely do more than blocking his blows that came in quick succession.

And he still had time to talk, too!

" _Of course_ I told them, but I timed it so you should have been done already when the news got to the prince. It was an easy guess based on how you usually operate."

Asajj froze, for a split second doubting her belief that Dooku had betrayed her.

Which was a split second too much, for she was already flying backwards from a Force push that followed, hitting the castle wall with a grunt of pain.

She had let go of her lightsabers at the impact and was just reaching for them when Dooku's Force lightning hit her, making her unable to bite back a scream as pain flashed through her body.

"You have always been too naïve." she could hear Dooku saying, though barely able to understand him through her own pain as he didn't stop shocking her. "Just like your father. A pity you were both standing in my way."

She felt as if he was intensifying his efforts still as the pain made her almost black out. She didn't know if she was still screaming but when the pain suddenly stopped she had to focus completely on staying conscious, barely managing to raise her head enough to get a good look at Dooku as he walked closer towards her, raising his blade in the process.

"Do not worry, I will end it quickly," he stated, sounding more condescending than anything.

She felt the fear inside of her rising, wanted so desperately to grab her lightsabers to block but her body wasn't quite obeying her, still twitching from the electrical currents that had been running through it...

Just before stabbing her Dooku suddenly swung his lightsaber to the right though, as the blade of another connected with it before bouncing of harmlessly.

A second later Anakin jumped into Asajj's point of view, his right arm outstretched as his lightsaber came flying back into his hand.

"Don't even think about it, traitor!"

Another hit against Dooku's lightsaber, during which Anakin shot a quick look over to her.

"Looks like you needed that break after all... Try to stay conscious."

That was the last he could say, for Dooku now began his offence against him, but he seemed a lot more prepared, jumping out of the way only to attack himself once more.

The two of them began to duel viciously, blue blades clashing again and again before being pulled apart to be swung anew from another angle, but Asajj felt her consciousness slipping even as she tried her best to keep her head up to watch, wanting to make sure Anakin was alright...

Her efforts didn't work too well though, so after another moment of struggling she lost the internal battle and darkness swept over her as the world went dark.

xxx

When she awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was lying in a bed far softer than she had become used to. Then she realised that her whole body felt sore, and after what felt like an eternity she remembered what had transpired before she had lost her consciousness.

She shot up in the bed, eyes wide, only slightly wincing at the pain that shot through her at the sudden move.

"Hey, calm down, you're safe," a voice said from the side and a quick gaze told her how Anakin was sitting on a chair next to her bed, looking startled.

"Anakin..." she rasped in relief, before clearing her throat, trying to make herself sound normal again. With only mediocre success. "What happened?"

Politely offering her a glass of water - something Asajj gladly accepted - Anakin began to explain what she had missed.

"Well... To put it short, Dooku is dead, the castle is safe again and we managed to capture or kill most of the attackers. Our own death toll isn't that high, but we lost a few good guards and a noble family that had been staying in the castle and somehow got in the way of the assailants it seems."

It sounded not that bad actually, although Asajj had to admit she had barely been listening after hearing about Dooku's fate. So the bastard was dead, huh...?

Somehow it made her feel relieved and empty at the same time. She had always hated him, so it was good that he had finally gone down, she even thought she would have liked to do it herself, but it still felt... weird. What was she supposed to do now after all?

If she was even allowed to do _anything_ , of course...

"What about me?" she asked because of that, glad to hear her voice becoming a bit more natural after having drunk some water.

Anakin shrugged lightly.

"Well, after I killed Dooku I let the guard do their job and took you up here to rest."

She shook her head, scowling.

"I didn't mean that. What about my... actions in the inn?"

"Ah, you mean the fact that you warned me of Dooku's plans after realising them?"

Noticing her disbelieving stare, Anakin chuckled slightly.

"Sorry about that, but this is the official version now. Basically you were a spy sent by Dooku to the ball, where we met, and as such you betrayed Dooku when you realised he was about to kill me. It's not that far from the truth either, right?"

If worded like that, it actually wasn't, she supposed... Although of course, it didn't say what had truly happened either.

As if sensing her frustration Anakin continued to talk just then, his gaze softening.

"Seriously though, stop blaming yourself for this. Yes, you've been an assassin and maybe you would have tried to kill me all the more had we not met before, but it didn't happen like that and you are obviously sorry. Also, you saved my life on the very same day and risked your own in defence of the castle. To me, that makes you a valuable ally. And Obi-Wan agrees with me, hence this almost-truth to tell father."

Before Asajj could start to protest - he had told his brother?! - she felt a finger on her lips, making her words get stuck in her throat.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I had to tell someone. I'm not that good with spinning these tales and Obi-Wan will stay quiet, I promise."

She still wasn't convinced, but suddenly his face was much closer to her own and before she could realise what he was planing he had taken away his finger and she felt his lips on hers again, spreading warmth through her body as her frustration ebbed away...

Stupid prince, why did she like him anyway...?

Way too soon he broke the kiss then, now smirking a little.

"Everything will be fine, you will see."

Asajj sighed.

"I guess," she admitted reluctantly, though she still couldn't quite believe it. She didn't even have an idea of what she was supposed to do now after all.

As if reading her thoughts, when Anakin continued he spoke of just that.

"By the way, with Dooku being gone... I guess you'll need a new job, right?"

She just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. That much was obvious, wasn't it?

"Right. So, I've been thinking... How about a position as my bodyguard?"

"Huh?" What was _that_ supposed to mean now?

"Well, after these assassination attempts father seems to believe we need some more guards... And I know you're _good_ , I've seen you fight."

She opened her mouth before closing it again, speechless. He was offering her a job as his bodyguard? For one, this would be an actual, legal job offer, which was already weird enough for her, but this offer also implied a great deal of trust in her, as well as the honest interest in her staying with him. It felt rather... overwhelming.

With her being quite for so long, Anakin seemed to grow a bit nervous though, as he started to ramble.

"Um... You don't have to do this of course. I guess you could choose any profession you want, now that you're free of Dooku, right? I just thought it might be a nice idea as you don't seem to overly mind my company and-"

She silenced him by putting a hand in his neck and pulling him close for another kiss. She knew this was all going a little too fast, but right now she didn't mind, she just couldn't help herself...

All those years under Dooku she had wished to find someone to take her away, to care for her, even though she had usually tried not to think of these things overly much. But with a chance for this presenting itself so openly in front of her, who was she to deny it? It was weird, thinking of Anakin as _the prince_ , but still, she was already crushing on him badly, so if there was a chance to get to know him better, why not take him up on it...?

As such, when they pulled themselves apart again, she gave him a small smile.

"I'd love to."

His answering smile was brilliant.

"Great! You'll start tomorrow then."

Then he leaned towards her again and stole another kiss.

Not that she minded.

For once it seemed, that there was a chance of a happy end for her. And she would be damned if she wouldn't try her best to achieve it.


End file.
